Cat Paw Preference

Broad Question

Do animals prefer one paw over the other?

Specific Question

When put through a series of tests, which paw does a cat use more?

Variables

Independent Variable:

Paw and cat

Dependent Variable:

Number of times each paw was used

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Tube of treats, string/ dangling toy, batting toy.

Hypothesis

My hypothesis is that the female cat will use her right paw more, and that the male will use his left paw more, since that is what my research shows.

Graph of Hypothesis

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Experimental Design

My experiment is being conducted to see whether animals choose one paw over the other. This is called paw preference, and I will be putting cats through multiple tests to see which paw each cat uses the most. I will be conducting my experiment in my room where I can take one cat in and conduct the tests without any distractions. I am the only person involved in my experiment, as I will be recoding which cat the paw uses five to ten times in each trial, though I will be conducting my experiment with two cats, a male and a female so that I have different cats doing each trial each time. I will need to conduct three trials with each cat. I will write down which paw the cat uses five to ten times through out the trial this means that each cat’s paw preference will be recorded 20 times throughout the trials. I will record which paw the cat uses in a chart on a piece of paper. I will then copy my data on to the same chart on the computer.

Materials list

• String or dangling toys

• Tube

• Treats

• 2 Cats (Male and female)

• Chart

• Catnip

• Batting toy

Detailed procedure

1. Grab Cat 1.

2. Place Cat 1 in room.

3. Shut door.

4. Place item one in front of cat, placed in the center of the cat’s view.

5. See which paw cat uses to retrieve or play with item one.

6. Record which paw is used with each item five to ten times.

7. If the item is moved, repeat step 4.

8. Repeat 4-6 two times with the other items.

9. Repeat 1-7 with Cat 2.

10. Record all information on a Google spreadsheet.

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Data table

Cat Left Paw Right Paw
One (Male)
Trial 1 7 3
Trial 2 8 2
Trial 3 9 1
Two (Female)
Trial 1 4 6
Trial 2 1 9
Trial 3 4 6

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Background Research

Animals do have paw preference. If an animal is a southpaw, they tend to use their left paw more. This is the same as left-pawed or left-handed in humans. This is the same with northpaws, right-paws and right-handed. Most female cats are right-pawed, and most male cats are left-pawed. Though some cats are ambidextrous, meaning they use both paws equally. Most cats who are not ambidextrous and have a dominant paw seem to be quicker in their functioning. Having a single paw preference seems to help develop better manual dexterity. Many other animals have paw preference; including dogs, parrots and fish. And surprisingly, all animals seem to have the same result: males choose the left; females choose the right. Toads prefer their right hand, or flipper. Humpback whales prefer the right side of their mouth when catching food. Behavior is the way an organism responds to its environment. A behavior that an organism is born with is called a innate behavior. These are behaviors that do not have to be learned. A reflex is an automatic response that does not involve the brain. An instinct is a complicated pattern of innate behavior. An example of an instinctual behavior in cats includes stalking, pawing, pouncing, and wrestling with prey or toys. Paw preference is an example all three behaviors. An example of a reflex in a cats is the “righting reflex”. When a cat falls, they always right themselves by flipping over, it’s a reflex.

References

Apilado, Crystal. "Cat Paw Preference." Cats, Cat Breeds, Cat Breeders & Cats for Sale. Web. 10 Jan. 2012.

"Determine Your Cat's Paw Preference." Www.mypethealthguide.com. Web. 10 Jan. 2012.

Daniel, Lucy, Ed Ortleb, and Altonn Biggs. Life Science. Westerville, OH: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1997. Print.

Book, Inc. The World Book encyclopedia. 2009 ed. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2009. Print.

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Results

My hypothesis is that the female cat will use her right paw more, and that the male will use his left paw more, since that is what my research shows.

Photos

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Conclusion

The original purpose of this experiment was to see whether or not cats have paw preference, choosing to use one paw over the other, like humans being right or left handed. The results were that the female cat used her right paw considerably more then her left in all three trials and the male used his left paw much more then his right in the same three trials.

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Discussion

My hypothesis was that the female cat would use her right paw more, while the male would use his left paw more, since this is what my research shows. There is a relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Some patterns and trends that my data shows is that as left paw increases on the male, right paw decreases and as the right paw increases on the female, left paw decreases. I think the tests I did went smoothly with some minor problems. Cats have a mind of their own and playing with them and stopping to record data is not what they want. Just getting the cat to do what I wanted was difficult, but I think that all in all, they had a good time and so did I.If I could improve my experiment, I would test more then two cats, but I did not have many male cats that I could test. An interesting future study might be trying to find a ambidextrous cat.